Peppermint
by MissMandS
Summary: In the evenings Bilbo goes to her apartment and starts preparing dinner. Halfway through the preparation she'll hear the front door creaking open, her cat Myrtle offering a lazy meow and then feel Tauriel's arms slipping around her waist. With the taller woman in the kitchen it's nearly impossible for her to cook as Tauriel noses at her ears. Part one of Peppermint. Fem!Bilbo.


They have an agreement of sorts worked out. Both of them work during the day: Bilbo at her bookstore and Tauriel at a daycare. Some days she brings the children into the bookstore for a story or two. During those times Bilbo will watch Tauriel over the top of whatever book she's holding. And each time their eyes meet there will be a small glimmer, a hint of a smile on the other ones face.

In the evenings Bilbo goes to her apartment and starts preparing dinner. Halfway through the preparation she'll hear the front door creaking open, her cat Myrtle offering a lazy meow and then feel Tauriel's arms slipping around her waist. With the taller woman in the kitchen it's nearly impossible for her to cook as Tauriel noses at her ears, nibbling on them and placing the occasional kiss behind them. And Bilbo would be lying if she said that she always kicks Tauriel out of the kitchen when she does this.

Most of the times it ends with Bilbo spread out across the table like one of the dishes she had been preparing with Tauriel between her legs. More than one dish had been burned because Bilbo was distracted by the glistening on Tauriel's lips and dripping down her chin. Sometimes they ordered pizza or takeout and during those times it was Tauriel who paid for it, an apologetic look in her eyes as she put the food between them.

After dinner would come the cuddles on the couch with Tauriel lying flat on her back and Bilbo on top of her. She has a terrible habit of wandering hands; tracing up and down Bilbo's sides and down towards her plump backside. The only sounds in the apartment are kissing, the occasional moan as a hand wanders higher or lower; the sound of clothes being peeled off; of toes curling on the furniture.

What begins on the couch always ends in Bilbo's bed. Sometimes there are toys, sometimes none. The air is always filled with the sound of moans, of hips quaking against the sheets, of delighted laughter. And afterwards with the musk of sex hanging heavy in the air there are cuddles once more.

Bilbo always slips out before Tauriel wakes up. As she prepares for work she stares at the pale, freckled skin of her shoulders, at her hair making a splash of fire against the deep green pillowcases. And always she leaves her a cup of coffee with peppermint chocolate truffle creamer sitting by it.

There are no promises between them, nothing holding them together other than an understanding of what the other one wants, what the other one needs.

But it still comes a shock when Tauriel grabs her in the bookstore and pulls her aside. She's in her work clothes but there are no children trailing after her. She doesn't offer a word of explanation as she drags her through the store until they're hidden between bookshelves.

"I'm sorry but I can't come tonight." Tauriel whispers.

"Oh okay." Bilbo says and shrugs.

"No, you don't understand Bilbo. I can't come over tonight or any other night again. I ah, met someone a few weeks ago. And it's…It's mostly been flirting and just talking. But I really like him and I want to try." Bilbo barely hears the rest. Tauriel's voice is full of pity, her eyes apologetic as they stare at Bilbo who remains unmoving.

"That's fine. After all it's not like we're together. I hope you have fun." Bilbo's voice cracks on the end and she flushes, looking away from Tauriel as she hurries back to the front. She keeps her back turned to the counter as Tauriel leaves with a quiet goodbye. When she brings the children in later Bilbo hides herself in the storage closet and pretends not to hear the children asking for her.

* * *

Bilbo feels ridiculous when she gets home because really, they have an agreement. They're neighbors. And friends. With the occasional benefits attached. If Bilbo was honest she found Tauriel to be a beautiful woman with a personality that lay alongside hers smoothly. She couldn't cook anything but what she lacked in cooking skills she made up for with her tongue and fingers. She was perfectly content to sit and play with Bilbo's curls for however long it too her to finish just one more sentence, one more chapter. And the thought of her being with someone else, dating and actually having something more than just benefits makes her chest flare with jealously.

The first thing she does when she gets home is lock the door. Bilbo struggles with the decision, staring at the door and contemplating. There's no reason for her to really leave it unlocked she eventually decides and with a sharp ache in her chest locks it. The next thing she does is hide all the numbers for takeout and pizza places. The sheets are changed and she kicks Myrtle out of the armchair so she doesn't have to sit on the couch. She lingers there as long as possible until she begins yawning and her cat looks at her with a gaze that says she's pathetic.

The last thing Bilbo does before going to bed is pouring out the peppermint chocolate truffle creamer. She leaves the empty container in the sink and slinks off to bed with Myrtle trailing her.

* * *

She doesn't see much of Tauriel after that. Bilbo extends her hours at the book store, sending employees home early and switching shifts around so she's not the one to read. Her door remains locked and her couch empty. In her mind it's an unspoken agreement that works for her. She doesn't mind the later hours, not reading to the children anymore and not having coffee waiting for someone else in the mornings. If she ignores the aching, low burn in her chest that is, it works fine.

"Are you quite done making yourself miserable?" The voice startles Bilbo from her reading. She jumps and winces as her book lands with a loud thump on the floor. The owner of the voice, a tall, long legged man with silvery blonde hair hanging down his back in a ponytail looks unimpressed.

"Can I help you sir?" Never let it be said that Bilbo Baggins was impolite to a stranger (even if he interrupted her reading).

"Yes, I've spent the last few weeks watching my niece mope around and be miserable. All for rather ridiculous reasons if you ask me. I mean really moping because someone's door is locked. That and she doesn't get her special coffee in the mornings."

"Tauriel has been moping because of me?"

"Extreme moping in which she doesn't shower, whines at us for making her do so and complaining that we don't make her coffee right."

"I thought she was dating someone…"

"They tried. Tauriel got wasted on cheap champagne and talked about you the entire time. The man Bard was kind enough to bring her home and tell me what happened. So with that being said I expect you to leave your door unlocked tonight; make dinner and do whatever…You and Tauriel do. And in the mornings I expect her to have her special coffee."

No dinner is made that night but instead the best lovemaking Bilbo can ever recall having with anyone. And when she wakes up her alarm is turned off and Tauriel is bringing her a cup of coffee, the smell of peppermint hanging in the air.

* * *

I'm alive! I know that for most people while being away from a particular fandom or website for like three days isn't anything, for me that's a lot. I just got a random urge for some Bilbo and Tauriel and wanted to make a series. Any and all prompts are welcome!

I almost made this have a pairing with Kili as her date. But my thoughts on Kili and Tauriel are that his feelings towards her are nothing more than just a part of his youth. Tauriel has basically just had Thranduil tell her that he would never allow his son to pledge himself to her there is this dwarf paying attention to her. And it's new and fabulous but not love. She more wants to forget about Legolas because she feels there will never be a chance there.


End file.
